Follow the Buzzards
by ThisIsWrestling
Summary: Daniel Bryan may have just reached the end of his rivalry with Bray Wyatt and his Family; he can enjoy a happy life with Brie Bella and strive to win the WWE Championship. However, the Wyatt Family has different plans for him, and it's only a matter of time before they make their big splash on the WWE in whole. Can Daniel finally overcome the group?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here's a new story involving the Wyatt Family's grasp on Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella, and the WWE! This one will be very interesting so I hope you'll give it a chance and sub to it and provide some reviews! Thanks and have a great holiday!

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Daniel Bryan had been prompted for over a month from Bray Wyatt to join the Wyatt family.

Bray has done numerous speeches professing Bryan's excellence, all with the goal of convincing Daniel to join the Wyatt family. Bray has even physically tortured Daniel; he's sent Erik Rowan and Luke Harper to do some extra convincing. But Daniel wasn't going to budge. He wasn't going to give in to Bray Wyatt's pressure. He wasn't going to be swayed by his charisma, power, or mind games. It was driving Bray nuts.

_Don't you worry, Bryan. Sooner or later you'll see the light. Hopefully not too late. Time…..is on…my…..side…_

Those harrowing words from Bray lingered in Daniel Bryan's head right before the big Pay-Per View event, Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. Daniel was booked in a match on that evening's card against Bray Wyatt. The stipulation was that if Bryan lost, he would be forced to become a member of the Wyatt family. Bryan was so confident in his abilities to beat Bray in a match that he had no problem accepting. In exchange, Bray agreed to keep Harper and Rowan backstage with no interference.

Bryan entered the arena that evening with Brie, his fiancé, who seemed to be worried. The two wheeled their bags into the arena, with Bryan saying hello to various people along the way to their respective locker rooms. Brie, however, had voice her concerns to her future husband.

"Bryan, I don't know about this one tonight. I mean, he's really scary…" Brie said.

"Oh, Brie!" Bryan said, chuckling. Brie stopped walking as Bryan kept walking, not realizing that Brie had stopped. Bryan looked to his side and saw that she had stopped.

"You're really worried about this one, huh?" He said, making his way back over to Brie. He kissed her on the forehead.

"I just," Brie started. Bryan started rubbing her arms. "I want you to be okay."

"Hun, I appreciate your concern, but you have nothing to worry about. I promise." Bryan assured her. Brie nodded and the two continued walking to their locker room areas.

Later that evening, Bryan was in the locker room, seated on a bench. He looked up at the monitor and saw the match that was taking place, a match that involved CM Punk and The Shield. Bryan chuckled while he taped his wrists.

Bryan made his way out of the locker room and almost immediately, was stopped by backstage announcer, Rene Young. Young was accompanied by a camera crew.

"Hey, Bryan! Would you mind doing an interview about your match tonight?" Young asked, with a smile.

"Shall we?" Bryan answered. Young and Bryan, accompanied by the camera crew, made their way over to the interview set. On the monitor, they patiently waited the CM Punk match to end. When the match was finished, CM Punk celebrated in victory as Young got into position.

"I'm here backstage with Daniel Bryan, the man who sees Bray Wyatt one on one tonight in a match where if he loses, he will have to join the Wyatt family. Bryan, what are your feelings on this match?" Young asked.

"You know, Rene, this match is just about the same kind of match that I've been fighting for my entire career. You know, the whole 'against all odds' type match. But the fact of the matter is, I've overcome those odds for my whole life. Whether it was being the best wrestler in the world on the independent circuit, beating John Cena at Summerslam, beating Randy Orton, standing up to the Authority, or whatever it may be. When the odds are stacked against me, I never let down. This is no different." Bryan replied. The audience cheered in approval.

"What do you think about the involvement of Harper and Rowan?"

"The condition is that those two are banned from ringside in any capacity tonight. That means they can't stand at ringside, they can't sit at the announcer's table with King, JBL and Michael Cole, they can't stand anywhere on the entrance stage, they can't buy a ticket and sit in the front row. They can't be anywhere near this match. The challenge is, we'll see if that happens. These guys are ruthless and they don't have any regard for the rules. If they aren't involved, I have just as good a chance of winning that Bray does."

"What are you going to do if you lose this match?"

"Rene, the agreement was that I join the Wyatt Family. I obviously don't want to do it, but I'm a man of my word. But will that happen, Rene? Will it happen?"

"Uh," replied a confused Rene. The crowd in the background shouted, "No!"

"You heard them. The answer is no! No! No! No!" Bryan said, leading the crowd in a "No" chant.

Just as Bryan had his fun with the audience, the camera feed flashed an image of the Wyatt Family and went to black. The crowd went quiet.

We see a candle being lit and pressed into a lantern. After this happens, the face of Bray Wyatt is seen as he holds the lantern close to his face. In the shadows next to him are Harper and Rowan, standing on both sides of Bray.

"Bryan…..Bryan…..Bryan…" Bray says with a bit of a chuckle.

"You're so naive. Or, maybe, you're just ignorant. That's fair, I suppose, because we're all ignorant. We're all ignorant to our true purpose on this earth! But, what separates us from them is that we're supreme to them. We're their better-and we have become the leaders!" Bray preached.

"Bryan, you're ignorant to the realm of possibilities once you become a member of the Family. You see, Bryan, I see a monster in you, and there's only one person that can unleash it. There's one person that can tame it, and it's me. Do you know the chaos I could reek with that power? Bryan, you and I together would be unstoppable. This company would be ours! But, you'll have to find that out the hard way. I've asked you enough and you've turned me down, nobody turns Bray Wyatt down! It didn't have to be this way, Bryan. Tonight, I'm going to unleash the most unholy beating on you. Don't see it as a beating, Bryan. See it as an initiation between brothers! Haha!" Bray started to laugh.

"Bryan, I'll see you tonight. If you need me before then, just follow the buzzards." Bray said, laughing before the camera went to black and cut back to Bryan.

Bryan seemed to look angry and stormed off.

An hour later, Bryan found himself in the ring for his match with Bray Wyatt. Wyatt made the way down to the ring with his family, but they left after Wyatt got settled in at ringside with his rocking chair.

Eventually, Bray made his way into the ring and stood face to face with Bryan.

Bray began to preach to Bryan, but all Bryan could think about was how this man had threatened him earlier in the night. Bryan knew Bray's weaknesses and he set out to expose them. Bray had suffered a leg injury recently and Bryan planned on taking advantage of that. Bryan was not worried about the Wyatt Family running down to the ring; he just had a feeling that he would be fine.

The two had a physical match. Bryan attempted to take advantage of Bray's leg, but he was repeatedly brushed away and dominated by Bray after every attempt. Maybe Bryan had met his match in Bray? Maybe Bryan couldn't beat him?

The end of the match came when Bryan set up for the running knee. Bray sidestepped, sending Bryan flying into the referee. Bray crawled out of the ring and grabbed a chair to finish Bryan. He folded it and entered the ring.

Bray swung the chair at Bryan, who ducked and performed a leg sweep on Bryan. Bryan looked down at the chair, which prompted the crowd to chant "Yes!". Bryan picked up the chair when Bray got up and hit him twice in the leg with the chair. Bryan saw that the referee was slowly getting up and threw the chair out of the ring. Bryan then drug Bray to the middle of the ring and started to execute a sharp shooter on Bray.

The referee crawled over to the area to ask if Bray would tap, but within seconds, Bray Wyatt tapped out. The crowd erupted.

And with the ring of the bell, Bryan was a free man. He again overcame the odds, but most importantly, did not have to join Wyatt's cult. But he knew that this couldn't be the end of his saga with Bray. After all, Bryan had expected to be attacked by the other members of the group, but he wasn't—not even after the match. Bryan celebrated but was skeptical.

But he had nothing to worry about. The Wyatt family members did come to the ring, but only to help Bray leave the ring, since he was not fully able to walk. Once at the top of the ramp, Bray looked back at Bryan with a look of embarrassment but also revenge. Bryan looked back at him and knew what his look meant.

Some day, Bray Wyatt would come back for Bryan. Bryan just didn't know when.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN**: A bit of a delay because the story is complex, and some developments on WWE TV in regards to Bray and Bryan have kind of messed things up (but I'll make it work) in the story. Otherwise, here you are. Hope you like it. Thanks for reading!

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_Time is on my side.._

"Good morning, dear."

Those were the first words spoken by Brie Bella that morning. Brie had just woken up and rolled over to greet her lover, Daniel Bryan, for the morning.

"Good Morning, Brie." Daniel replied. With a wide grin, he kissed Brie.

Daniel was in a very good mood that morning, and rightfully so. The night prior, he had just finally defeated his arch rival, the evil and bizarre cult leader, Bray Wyatt. Bryan needed all of the positive energy he could get, so he figured by smiling and just thinking positively he could finally cast thoughts of Bray out of his head.

However, even in lieu of Daniel's defeat of Bray Wyatt, he knew that the Wyatt Family was still around. The Family was still able to wreak havoc among World Wrestling Entertainment, and no one could tell of what their next moves would be. Deep down, Bryan knew that he would be unable to finally rid his mind of the Wyatts until he was able to take the Family down for good. More importantly, though, he knew that the Wyatts were not done with him. Perhaps maybe they were, but he had a gut feeling that they were not.

The two rose from bed to ready themselves for the day to come. That evening, the two were off on their way to the night's television taping, WWE's Monday Night Raw. Bryan went to the taping that evening with one thing in his mind; this was not of Bray Wyatt and his Family, but getting another chance at winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the company's biggest and most prestigious championship.

Bryan and Brie emerged from their rental car to the arena. Fans had already strategically placed themselves near the back entrance to get a first glimpse at all of the superstars that were arriving. Bryan and Brie noticed a few waiting with pictures and pens in their hands, and they decided to accommodate them with autographs and photos. The fans thanked Bryan and Brie as they went on their way. Bryan entered the arena with the mindset that he was going to leave that night with a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, no matter what it took. Brie, on the other hand, just entered the building with the mindset of looking better than the other Divas.

The two reached their destinations and said goodbye to one another with a kiss. Brie went into the women's locker room, while Daniel went into the men's. The first man that he saw, almost naturally, was John Cena. Cena was unpacking his belongings and placing them neatly into his locker for the evening.

Cena turned around to see who was entering the locker room, and once he saw that it was Daniel, he smiled and walked over to him.

"Good match yesterday, Bryan." Cena told Bryan. He extended his hand out to Bryan for a hand shake.

"Thanks, John". Bryan replied, shaking Cena's hand. "Hopefully that was the final saga with the Wyatt Family and myself."

"If it calls for matches like the one that you and Bray had yesterday, then I sure hope not!" Cena jokingly replied. The two laughed for a bit.

"I'm perfectly content with never facing Bray again." Bryan remarked, while giggling. "You better watch out, though, John."

"Me? You think that I'm their next target?"

"Well, not their next target." Bryan began. "But mine."

The tone of the conversation became more serious. "Oh, really?" Cena replied.

"Really." Bryan said. " I'm setting my sights on that WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and if that means that I have to go through you, then, may the best man win."

The two shook hands again, but both men using a tighter grip. Cena looked into Bryan's eyes with a level of intensity that demonstrated the professional respect that the two had for each other. Bryan took the handshake and the stare from Cena as Cena accepting his challenge.

Bryan made his way over to an open locker area and got acquainted. He had slipped on his trunks and put on one of his signature tee-shirts, an image of a goat with wings. Once he was finished getting dressed for the evening, he left the locker room.

Bryan wanted to ask the General Manager, Brad Maddox, for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match and he was headed to his office.

However, as Bryan made his way closer to Maddox's office, he saw a familiar figure walking in the same direction. The man was taller than him, more lean than him, and was wearing a very expensive-looking suit. The man shook his shoulders as he walked, a strut that was synonymous with one man: Vince McMahon.

Once Daniel realized that Vince McMahon was there, he greeted him with a wave, to which McMahon nodded. Bryan went on his way as Vince McMahon turned a corner.

Vince was in the arena that evening to be present for a congratulatory ceremony booked for the evening. The ceremony was to be in honor of Randy Orton, who, the night prior, had defeated John Cena in a competitive match that unified the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship belts into one main championship, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It was a historic event in WWE's history and there was no chance that the chairman of the board, Vince, would miss it.

As Vince walked throughout the halls, he stopped as he saw a door labeled "The Authority". The Authority consisted of his daughter, Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Triple H, two of the newest rising executives in the company. He entered through the doors of the office to where he saw Triple H and Stephanie speaking with the new champion, Randy Orton. Orton and Stephanie were seated on a sofa, while Triple H stood next to his wife.

"..and when you walk over, there will be fireworks that really light the arena up." Stephanie said in her conversation with Randy. The three noticed Vince enter the office.

"Vince!" Triple H said, with a huge grin. He walked over to Vince and hugged him, while Stephanie remained seated and smiled at her father.

"Hey, Dad. I'm glad you could make it tonight." Stephanie said.

"We both are." Triple H added. "We can't have this big ceremony without the man that started it all!"

"Thank you." Vince replied. "Randy, congratulations on a hellacious match yesterday. That match will go down as one of the greatest matches in company history."

Orton nodded, in thanks of the compliments from Vince.

"Here, have a seat, Vince. We were just discussing some of the things we have planned for the celebration ceremony tonight." Triple H said.

"Well, actually.." Vince started. "I have some ideas on further action."

"Further action?" Stephanie replied. "What do you mean?"

"Further action in terms of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. You see, Randy here is the face of the company, but he's also a fighting champion. With that being said, I think we should cut the celebration ceremony short in order to announce Randy's next opponent for the championship." Vince said.

Suddenly, the tone of the discussion took a turn for the worst. Triple H looked confused, while Orton looked outraged and Stephanie looked annoyed. No one was thinking about Orton's celebration anymore.

"Dad," Stephanie began. "While I agree that we should announce the next contender quickly, don't you think Randy could use a short break? I mean, we all saw the match yesterday. It was a ladder match and Randy's body has to be beaten up to a degree."

"You can say that again." Triple H added, having been in many ladder matches throughout his career as a wrestler.

"A break? There are no breaks, Stephanie, and you of all people should know that. Do you know where I and this company would be if I took breaks? We'd have been out of business long before WCW became a threat." Vince replied. "Look, Randy is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the best of the best. With that title comes great opportunity, and suddenly, every member of the roster is trying to win that title from you. He's got to be ready to defend that championship on demand."

"Okay, Vince". Triple H said. "Say we entertain this idea that you are proposing. Then what happens?"

"I have some ideas on who that contender should be. I absolutely think that John Cena deserves a rematch at the championship." Vince said. Triple H and Stephanie looked at each other and nodded. Randy did not look too happy about hearing that but he didn't mind it since he had already beaten Cena.

"I've also been watching Raw and Smackdown every week and I've noticed the crowd is in love with one particular superstar week in and week out. I don't remember this man ever getting booed, and merchandise sales for this superstar are tremendously on the rise. Of course, I'm talking about Daniel Bryan." Vince said.

Orton's face became increasingly concerned. Stephanie and Triple H were not fans of Daniel Bryan, as they both felt that he was not good for business. They, seemingly, weren't buying that prospect.

"…and I've also been in touch with one Paul Heyman, and Paul has communicated to me that his client, Brock Lesnar, might be interested in fighting for the championship. I tend to agree that Brock would make a perfect contender for the championship as well."

Randy nearly rose out of his chair in concern and frustration after hearing that Brock Lesnar wants to challenge for the championship. Brock Lesnar, one of the more intimidating figures in the company, was also a name that was not kind to Triple H. In the past, Lesnar had broken Triple H's arm more than once, and Triple H was not happy to hear that name in the discussion. Stephanie looked at Triple H with a concerned expression.

"So, why not have all of these men face Randy Orton for the championship in a fatal four way match at the Royal Rumble? I think that we should do this as it would be the best course of action moving forward."

The room was in silence. The three suddenly were not as welcoming to Vince as they had been a couple of minutes prior. Vince stood, waiting for an answer from Stephanie or Triple H but they just looked at each other.

Stephanie broke the silence. "Dad, while I respect your opinions and ideas, I don't think we'll be moving in that direction. We're going to go through with the ceremony as planned and announce Randy's next contender next week on Monday Night Raw."

Vince looked surprised to be upheld by his daughter. "Stephanie, as much as I love you, I think you're forgetting that I'm still the Chairman."

"And I think you're forgetting, Dad, that we were put in charge of day-to-day operations over the shows. That means that we run the show here." Stephanie replied. She had an attitude in her voice that demonstrated her frustrations.

"Yes, and I understand that, but I'm the Chair—" Vince began, before being cut off.

"We have the final say over this, Dad. Hunter and I have the full confidence of the Board of Directors and we have control over these matters." Stephanie angrily replied.

"Stephanie—"

"Listen, Dad. Passing off the power to us was your idea, and now that you're getting older you really should be sitting on the sideline and letting us run the company. I know you miss the glory days of being able to run everything back here but the time has come and gone. It's our time, now. Not yours." Stephanie replied.

"Vince, maybe you should just leave for the night". Triple H said. "We really don't want you to get in the way of this ceremony or any more of our plans."

Vince, getting angry, yelled, "It's my company, damnit! My company!"

"No it's not!" Stephanie yelled back. "Get out! Now!"

"I knew all you kids were interested in was taking my company out from under me! I'm not going to stand for this!" Vince yelled.

"Vince, seriously. Leave." Triple H said, walking closer to Vince.

Vince looked angrily at his daughter whom he had loved so much, but was now feeling an ounce of hatred for his own flesh and blood. He looked at Triple H as well before storming out of the office and slamming the door behind him.

He stood there, thinking about how he had just been told that he was out of power. The words of Stephanie McMahon lingered in the back of his mind.

_It's our time now, Dad._

_It's our time._

This prompted Vince to have no other reaction than to say,

"Hmp. Not if I have anything to do about it!"


End file.
